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The Sharpeville Massacre*

The Sharpeville Massacre in the 1960s was a turning point in South African history. For the resistance movements it marked the change from non-violent to violent protest. The peaceful protest at Sharpeville against the pass laws was organised by the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) and met by shooting by the police. It is not clear what really happened on 21 March 1960; there were different versions of and perspectives on the events in Sharpeville. In the following text Humphrey Tyler, assistant editor of Drum Magazine at that time, reports how he experienced that day in his function as a journalist. – www.sahistory.org.za/pages/governence-projects/sharpeville/03_eyewitnesses.htm.

machine gun, then another, then another. There were hundreds of women, some of them laughing. They must have thought the police were firing 25 blanks. One woman was hit about ten yards from our car. Her companion, a young man, went back when she fell. He thought she had stumbled. Then 30 he turned her over and saw that her chest had been shot away. He looked at the blood on his hand and said: "My God, she's gone!" Hundreds of kids were 35 running, too. One little boy had on an old blanket coat, which he held up behind his head, thinking, perhaps, that it might save him 40 from the bullets. Some of the 69 people were killed by the police during the Sharpeville Massacre children, hardly as tall as the grass, were leaping like rabbits. 1 We went into Sharpeville the back way, behind a grey Some were shot, too. Still the shooting went on. One of police car and three Saracens. As we drove through the the policemen was standing on top of a Saracen, and it 45 fringes of the township many people shouted the Pan- looked as though he was firing his gun into the crowd. Africanist slogan "Izwe Lethu", which means "Our He was swinging it around in a wide arc from his hip as 5 Land", or gave the thumbs-up "freedom" salute and though he were panning a movie camera. Two other shouted "Afrika!". They were grinning, cheerful, and officers were with him, and it looked as if they were nobody seemed to be afraid…There were crowds in the firing pistols. Most of the bodies were strewn on the 50 streets as we approached the police station. There were road running through the field in which we were. One plenty of police, too, wearing more guns and ammunition man, who had been lying still, dazedly got to his feet, 10 than uniforms…An African approached…and said he staggered a few yards, then fell in a heap. A woman sat was the local Pan-Africanist leader. He told [us] his with her head cupped in her hands. organisation was against violence and that the crowd One by one the guns stopped. 55 was there for a peaceful demonstration…The crowd Before the shooting, I heard no warning to the crowd seemed perfectly amiable. It certainly never crossed our to disperse. There was no warning volley. When the 15 minds that they would attack us or anybody… shooting started it did not stop until there was no living There were sudden shrill cries of "Izwe Lethu" - thing in the huge compound in front of the police station. women's voices it sounded – from near the police, and The police have claimed they were in desperate danger 60 I could see a small section of the crowd swirl around the because the crowd was stoning them. Yet only three Saracens and hands went up in the Africanist salute. policemen were reported to have been hit by stones – and 20 Then the shooting started. We heard the chatter of a more than 200 Africans were shot down. The police also

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have said that the crowd was armed 65 with "ferocious weapons", which littered the compound after they fled. I saw no weapons, although I looked very carefully, and afterwards studied the photographs of the death scene. 70 While I was there I saw only shoes, hats and a few bicycles left among the bodies. The crowd gave me no reason to feel scared, though I moved among them without any distinguishing mark 75 to protect me, quite obvious with my white skin. I think the police were scared though, and I think the crowd knew it.

The police used saracens to suppress riots

Vocabulary Explanations 3 fringe (n.): the part of s.th. that is farthest from the centre Introduction: pass laws: see p. 20 - Introduction: PAC: Pan - 14 amiable (adj.): friendly and likable - 18 to swirl (v): to Africanist Congress of Azania; it was a resistance movement turn around quickly in a twisting circular movement or make established in 1959 and the major rival of the ANC (see p. s.th. do this - 26 blank (n.): a cartridge that contains an 17). The PAC proclaimed Africanism and opposed multi- explosive but not a bullet - 48 to pan (v.): if a film or television racialism; their key slogan in the past was "Africa for the camera pans in a particular direction, it moves and follows Africans" - Introduction: Drum magazine: see p. 57 - 2 the thing that is being filmed - 52 dazed (adj.): unable to saracens: armoured cars that were often used to suppress think clearly, esp. because of a shock, accident etc - 57 to riots in the townships (see p. 28) disperse (v.): if a group of people disperses or is dispersed, they separate and go away in different directions - 57 volley (n.): a large number of shots fired from a gun at the same time - 65 ferocious (adj.): violent, dangerous, and frightening

AWARENESS 1 What is meant by a turning point in history? 2 Can you find such turning points in German history?

COMPREHENSION 3 What was the atmosphere in the crowd like at the beginning of the demonstration? 4 Why did the situation change?

ANALYSIS 5 Compare the eye-witness account of Humphrey Tyler with an article in the British newspaper The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/1960/mar/22/southafrica.fromthearchive). The differences are significant. Try to find reasons for this. Can you find any similarities in the two accounts?

OPINION 6 What do you believe happened in Sharpeville in March 1960? Give reasons for your opinion. 7 To what extent can reporting on certain events be objective or neutral? What are the implications for journalists and the readers of such reports?

PROJECT 8 In groups of 4-5 students write an article about a recent event, but from different perspectives. Compare your articles. To what extent do they differ from each other? How could they be used to manipulate public opinion?

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Phaswane Mpe

"An Ode to Bafana Bafana"

Soccer (football) is among the most popular sports in South Africa. It is a sport of the people that is mainly played in the streets and stadiums of the townships. South Africa's national team is called "Bafana Bafana". Though it did not qualify for the last World Cup in Germany in 2006, South Africa hosts the next one in 2010. Stadiums have been rebuilt or newly built in every major town or city all over the country. Phaswane Mpe (see p. 49) wrote a poem about the international team of South Africa in 1998 called "An Ode to Bafana Bafana". – Phaswane Mpe: Brooding Clouds, Scottsville/RSA: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, 2008, pp. 168, 70.

1 ai

we sang... stranded in a zoo we sang shosholoza of noisy spectators screaming au revoir sent you off with rhymes benny mccarthy magic 5 of joy & hope stifled & no wonder boys 25 by our knowledge of your youth there was no madiba magic in matters of world cups spurring you on from the maddening crowds we brooded over the deprivations of noises of shosholoza & depravities of apartheid uprooted from its south african soil 10 of amabokoboko & stranded in the green lands [...] 30 beating ireland with scores you lost bafana bafana of fists that frightened the irish but we knew you were stimela's franky made them fearful wanting to go to the city of scoring their own goals it is enticing & menacing that hillbrow 15 to fill oceans of nationhood that you would go to 35 flowing within their literature softly now boys... james joyce forgot about the artist tread softly as you wade your way as a young man towards 2002 & focused his sharp gaze a big leap towards 2006 and beyond 20 on you bafana bafana when we might watch from heavens 40 playing your first round like boys as you soar like eagles [...]

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Pure joy of life: Bafana fans at the first game of the Confederations Cup, 14 June 2009

Vocabulary 8 deprivation (n.): s.th. you need or usually have that you song" sung at rugby matches by Springbok supporters - 10 are prevented from having - 9 to deprave (v.): fml. to be amabokoboko: African name for the international rugby an evil influence on s.o., esp. s.o. who is young or not very team - 11 beating Ireland: South Africa beat Ireland in two experienced - 34 enticing (adj.): very pleasant or interesting Rugby test matches in 1998. The results were 37-13 and so that you feel strongly attracted - 34 menacing (adj.): 33- 0. These were devastating defeats for the Irish. - 17 James making you expect s.th. unpleasant - 37 wade (v.): to walk Joyce (1882-1941): Irish writer. He wrote the novels Ulysses through water that is not deep (1922) and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916), among other important works. - 24 Benny McCarthy: popular South African soccer player - 26 Madiba: affectionate Explanations nickname for Nelson Mandela (see p. 27) - 32 stimela: Introduction: bafana: means "boys", the name of the popular South African jazz group headed by Ray Phiri - 32 national soccer team - 1ai: exclamation of surprise, pain Franky: an allusion to US-American singer and actor Frank or dismay - 3 shosholoza: popular South African "working Sinatra (1915-1998) - 34 Hillbrow: see p. 47

AWARENESS 1 Do you know any players in the South African football team? Do you know any South African players in Germany? Who are they, and which teams do they play for?

COMPREHENSION 2 What is the name of the national rugby team given in the poem?

ANALYSIS 3 What is an ode? Why does Mpe use the form of an ode? 4 What literary devices can you find in the poem? What is their function in the poem? 5 Why does the poet mention a) James Joyce (l. 17) b) Franky (l. 32)? 6 What is meant by "madiba magic" (l. 26)?

OPINION 7 How important is football (soccer) in your country? Do you think it is overrated? Give reasons for your opinion.

PROJECTS 8 Imagine the final of the World Cup (2010 or later) is your national team against Bafana Bafana. Write a newspaper article or radio report about the game. 9 Find out about the two most famous South African soccer teams: Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs (http://www.orlandopiratesfc.com/ and http://www.kaizerchiefs.com/). a) What do they have in common? b) Which other nicknames do they have and what do they mean? c) How are they seen by their supporters? Explain why their supporters view the teams as they do.

64 South Africa Kultur Materialien für Lehrer*innen NORDRHEIN-WESTFALEN

Diese Beilage zeigt Schnittstellen zwischen dem fächerspezifischen Lehrplan und der Möglichkeit, das Thema Schulpartnerschaft mit Südafrika im Unterricht zu behandeln. Sie skizziert die Vorgaben aus dem Kernlehrplan und das Potential Südafrikas. Ebenso bietet sie Verweise auf Material- und Projektangebote sowie weiterführende Links zum Globalen Lernen.

Prozessbezogene Kompetenzen (Gymnasium) Englisch Klasse 10-13

Der Kernlernplan ist Kompetenz orientiert. Schülerinnen und Schüler (SuS) sollen systematisch kommunikative und interkulturelle Kompetenzen erlernen und damit auf eine globalisierte Lebenswelt vorbereitet werden. Neben dem Erlernen von Text- und Medienkompetenz soll die Auseinandersetzung mit anderen Lebenswirklichkeiten die Selbstreflexionskompetenz stärken. Trotzdem werden unter anderem einige Themen als soziokulturelles Orientierungswissen benannt:

• Alltagswirklichkeiten und Zukunftsperspektiven junger Erwachsener: Lebensentwürfe, Studium, Ausbildung, Beruf international – Englisch als lingua franca • Politische, soziale und kulturelle Wirklichkeiten und ihre historischen Hintergründe: Postkolonialismus – Lebenswirklichkeiten in einem weiteren anglophonen Kulturraum; Literatur und Medien in ihrer Bedeutung für den Einzelnen und die Gesellschaft • Globale Herausforderungen und Zukunftsvisionen: Fortschritt und Ethik in der modernen Gesellschaft; Chancen und Risiken der Globalisierung

Empfohlenes Unterrichtsmterial (Englisch)

• Klett Arbeitsmaterial The Sharpeville Massacre Das Sharpeville Massaker 1960 lenkte international die Aufmerksamkeit auf die Gräuel der Apartheid und wir heute durch den Antirassismus-Tag am 21. März gedacht. • Klett Arbeitsmaterial An Ode to Bafana Bafana 1

Bafana Bafana ist die südafrikanische Fußballmannschaft, von der alle hofften, dass sie 2010 bei der Fußball WM in Südafrika den Pokal holen würde. Weiterführendes Material

• South Africa – from apartheid to reconciliation Arbeitsheft zu Südafrika (Oberstufe Englisch)

• Nelson Mandela – Der erste schwarze Präsident Südafrikas 12-minütiger Videobeitrag mit vorbereiteten Fragen für Schülerinnen und Schüler

• Nelson Mandela – Der lange Weg zur Freiheit historisches Drama (150 Minuten)

• Sindiwe Magona: Mother to Mother ISBN 978-3-425-04971-7

Inhalt: Im August 1993 wurde die Fulbright Stipendiatin Amy Elizabeth Bill von einer Bande schwarzer Jugendlicher in Guguletu, Südafrika, überfallen und getötet. Amy, eine weiße Amerikanerin, war nach Südafrika gekommen, um schwarze Menschen politisch und moralisch zu unterstützen. In dem Roman Mother to Mother, der sich an den realen Vorfall anlehnt, versucht die Mutter eines Mörders die Beweggründe ihres Sohnes zu erklären, indem sie die Ereignisse der Vergangenheit analysiert. Dadurch legt sie die tragischen Folgen der Apartheidpolitik bloß. In Selbstgesprächen stellt sie sich vor, ihre Erkenntnisse an die Mutter des Opfers weiterzugeben, um die Schmerzen beider Mütter zu lindern. Dieser Roman bietet eine großartige Möglichkeit, sich im Unterricht der Problematik der südafrikanischen Rassenpolitik zu nähern (mit Begleitmaterial erhältlich).

Impressum

Datum der Erstellung: Januar 2021

Werkstatt Ökonomie e.V. / Kirchliche Arbeitsstelle Südliches Afrika (KASA) / Im WeltHaus Heidelberg Willy-Brandt-Platz 5; 69115 Heidelberg / E-Mail: [email protected] / Internet: www.kasa.de

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